Undocumented Arkansas students push for college access
by David Koon
Somewhere in the story of every undocumented student brought to this country as a child, there's a moment of horrible realization: the sudden, painful understanding of why the thought of being stopped by the police sends a shadow of fear skating across their parents' eyes. For most of those kids, that's followed quickly by the realization that they, too, are undocumented — that even though they feel American on the inside, the geography of their birth says otherwise.
It isn't that it's kept a secret from them. It's just that the complexities of adult life — Social Security numbers, immigration status, and the idea of invisible borders between countries — elude the young. Sooner or later, though, everyone has to grow up, and for many undocumented students, that means coming to grips with one of the cruelest quirks of immigration law: that even if you were brought to this country before you could decide whether to come or not, and grew up here, and excelled in school here, and speak English just as fluently or better than you speak Spanish, there is a point where the ladders that lead to better places stop for anyone not born on American soil.
One of those places is affordable access to higher education. Though the Supreme Court has ruled than every child in the U.S. should receive free public schooling regardless of their immigration status, many of the private scholarships and all the federal loans, grants and work-study programs that help millions of young Americans seek an education beyond a high school diploma aren't available for the undocumented students, no matter how good their grades. Even if undocumented students were able to pay out-of-pocket for their tuition — an idea that isn't feasible even for most born-and-raised Americans in an age of sky-high-and-rising education costs — the problem is compounded by the fact that in many states, including Arkansas, undocumented students must pay the out-of-state tuition rate, which can double the tuition at a public university in Arkansas.
These barriers play a big part of why a study by the Pew Hispanic Center found that only 61 percent of undocumented high school graduates go on to college, compared to 76 percent of legal permanent residents, and 71 percent of native-born citizens.
For this story, we talked to four young undocumented Arkansans, and asked them to share their stories via interviews, which we have condensed into narratives. All four have either applied for or received temporary legal residency through the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (see sidebar for more on DACA), but keep in mind that while DACA will keep them from being deported and allow them to legally work, it doesn't give them access to federal student aid and most private scholarships.
All the young people we talked to are hopeful for the eventual passage of the federal DREAM Act, or — better still — comprehensive immigration reform. But hearing these stories, one has to ask: Why are they being punished for something they had no say in?
LIDIA MONDRAGON
Age: 20
Attending University of Arkansas at Fort Smith
My family came from Mexico when I was 6. My dad was already here in the United States. He would come and go every few months. My mom just decided to follow him here so the family would be together.
We lived in California for about a year. My uncle already lived here in Arkansas, so he came and talked to my dad and said: "You need to come to Arkansas. There's more work, and the cost of living is less than it is in California." My dad didn't think about it twice. We packed up and came to Waldron, and I started school in the third grade. I didn't know that much English. I could understand some of it, but I couldn't speak it. I got involved in some of the ESL classes and it wasn't until the summer before fifth grade that I actually started to speak it and really understand it.
Speaking of...
-
Diamonds in the manure of the Arkansas legislature
May 9, 2013Some legislators and legislation shone. /more/
-
Legislature today: DREAM again denied for immigrant children
April 10, 2013Sen. Joyce Elliott's bill to allow colleges to charge in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students who've graduated from Arkansas high schools and had sufficient residency here failed in a Senate committee today. /more/
-
War on Women continues: Republicans again kill ERA in Senate committee
April 2, 2013Sen. Joyce Elliott will try again today. A resolution for Arkansas to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment is on the Senate State Agencies Committee agenda at 10 a.m. this morning. /more/
-
Barth: The DREAM remains alive
March 28, 2013Within days, we will know whether the Arkansas DREAM Act, the legislation focused on providing in-state college tuition to undocumented young people who have been educated in the state's high schools, has legs in this legislative session. /more/
-
Sunday open line
March 24, 2013Here's an open line. Also: * VOTER INITIATIVES: Here's an article by Paul Jacob, a North Little Rock native who was an important foot soldier in the national campaign to pass term limits. /more/
-
The women's rights open line
March 23, 2013A two-week grassroots campaign on social media brought maybe 500 people to the Capitol on a cold, rainy day Saturday to protest the legislature's attack on women's medical rights (and speakers invoked a range of other liberty-infringing efforts by the legislature). /more/
-
'The Baby-Faced Killah' and the Ledge-Ends of the Game
March 15, 2013The first annual Arkansas Legislative Hoops For Kids' Sake Game is coming up on Tuesday, and we're really, really excited here at the Times. So much so that we've wasted a couple hours making 10 basketball cards of participating members, replete with nicknames and scouting reports. /more/
-
Elliott files bill to close tuition gap for undocumented students
March 11, 2013As promised, Sen. Joyce Elliott (D-Little Rock) has filed a bill that would allow undocumented students — many of whom, as David Koon described in a recent cover story, were brought here as small children and know no other country — an opportunity to receive in-state tuition rates at state colleges. /more/
- More »
Comments (3)
Showing 1-3 of 3
More by David Koon
-
Ark. stunt pioneer Hal Needham gets honorary Oscar
If you were paying attention while watching the Oscars last night, you might have heard that Arkansas-raised stuntman Hal Needham was one of those who received an honorary Academy Award this year.
- Feb 25, 2013
-
Italian fast food chain's first U.S. location: Russellville
From the weird file comes the news that Italian fast food chain SKK Italy plans to open their first U.S. location — in, of all places, Russellville.
- May 2, 2013
- More »
People who saved…
Readers also liked…
-
'A human issue'
Sen. Joyce Elliott pushes (again) for a bill to extend in-state tuition to undocumented students.
- Feb 21, 2013
Latest in Cover Stories
-
Ready for Riverfest
Good times start rolling Friday.
- May 23, 2013
-
Riverfest fast facts
Riverfest 2013 three-day discounted tickets will be available at select Walgreen's locations around the state. These tickets will be sold for $17.50 (while supplies last). Admission at the gates is $35 for a three-day pass, cash only. Online tickets can be purchased for $30.
- May 23, 2013
-
Live entertainment schedule
The Riverfest calendar.
- May 23, 2013
- More »
Event Calendar
-
Re: Sister who opposed Faubus dies
This week's Tin Can Alley (2nd file, you'll want to start at around the 6:15…
- on May 25, 2013
-
Re: Best of Arkansas 2012
Where is the 2013 Ballot???
- on May 24, 2013
-
Re: Sister who opposed Faubus dies
What Orval Faubus did in 1957 was not a governor gone all mavericky. He was…
- on May 24, 2013
Site Index
News
Cover Story / Arkansas Reporter / The Week That Was / Smart Talk / The Insider / The Observer / Editorial / Max Brantley / Ernest Dumas / Gene Lyons / Bob Lancaster / Words / Guest Writer / Letters
Entertainment
A&E Feature / To-Do List / In Brief / Movie Reviews / Music Reviews / Theater Reviews / A&E News / Art Notes / Graham Gordy / Books / Media / Dining Reviews / Dining Guide / What's Cookin' / Calendar / The Televisionist / Movie Listings / Gallery Listings
This Week's Cover
Quick Links
Special Publications
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
